Dental instrument



W. W. BOLLS- v DENTAL INSTRUMENT.

APPLICATION FILED NOV 4, I920.

1,384,740, Patented July 19, 192-1. I

Z6 i I guwemo'c .5 Ffilliam WBaZLs,

. h v MrNEssr- 1 I I PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM W. DOLLS; OF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

DENTAL INSTRUMENT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented J my 19', 1 921.

Application filed November 4, 1920. Serial N0. 421,667.

To all 1071077121 mag concern Be it known that I, VVILLIAM W. Bonns, acitizen of the United States, residing at Washington, in the District ofColumbia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in DentalInstruments, of which the following is a specification.

This invention'relates to certain new and useful improvements in dentalinstruments and pertains more particularly to means under the control ofthe operator for feeding water to a grinding wheel or other tool so asto prevent overheating.

The primary object of the lnventlon' is to provide a device formaintaining the wheel or tool moist, and which can be operated by thedentist without appreciable movement of the fingers of the hand in whichlatter the instrument is held.

A further object of t'he'invent'ionisto pro-- vide a moistening devicewhich is adjustablev so that the water may be fed to the wheel'at anypoint desired'between the center of rotation and the-peripherythereof;

A still further object of the invention is to provide a water feedingdevice which is retained at fixed points on the handle of the instrumentregardless'of the movement or position of the distributing end of thedevice, z' 0., whether the distributing end be disposed closeto orremote from the axis of rotation of the grinding wheel.

The invention further aims to provide a device of this character whichhas novel meansforapplying the water to the device so that a sterilecondition is maintained;

In addition the invention aims toprovide a device of this type whichisboth simple and economical and which canbe easily ap pliedtoand-removed from the handle at will.

In the drawings 1- Figure 1, is a side elevation of the preferred formof the invention;

Fig. 2, is a top plan view;

Fig. 3, is a section on line 3-3 of F 1g. 1;

Fig. 4:, is a side elevation of a modified form of the invention, and

Fig. 5, is a section on line 5-5 of Fig. 4.

In proceeding in accordance with the present invention, a spring clampor clip 1,1s employed which engages about the handle H of the dentalinstrument, the clip being formed with ears 2 between which is pivoted atube or hollow rod 3, by means of a pin 4. A second pair of ears 5 areborne by the Cllp 1 engage about an attenuated or reduced neck 6 ofabulb 7', the neck- Gbein'g secured to the inner end of th'e tube 3.The'ear's 5 are designed to hold the bulb substantially againstmovementor in fixed relation to the handle H, while still permitting thefree outer'end o fthe tub'eto move about the pin 4;. A pair of springarms 8'are connected at their inner ends to a sleeve 9 which is receivedover the tube 3 and have'aring 10 arranged thereover so that a piece ofsponge or equivalent absorbent material 11 may be removably grippedbetween the arms.

From the foregoing it will be seen that the dentist may easily andquickly place a piece of sponge or absorbent material in the springclamp arms and'upon filling thebulb 7 with water, may by very slightpressure on the bulb, force water as desired, through the tube and intothe sponge. Further, the dentist may, by sliding clip 1, bring thesponge up to the back face of the wheel as close as may be desired, andby moving the tube 3 about pivot .pin 4, may cause the sponge'to;

illustrated'in Figs. 4 and 5 the tube 20 has a wick 21 housed thereinwith the free outer end'of the wick projecting outwardly of the forwardend of the tube so as to impinge against the rear face'of the wheel. Thetube 20 is carried-by a U-shaped carrier or'support22 which lattermovesin a horizontal plane so as to position'the' wick at any desiredpoint between the periphery and center of the wheel. The carrier 22 ispivoted by a pin 23 to a spring clamp or clip 24- which engages aboutthe handle of the dental instrument as depicted. The bulb 25 is formedto contain water or antiseptic as in the preferred form and by gentlesqueezing with the fingers will control the quantity of the fluidsupplied to the wheel. With this form of the invention, the dentist maycut oif a used end part of the wick after each use of the device so asto maintain a sterile condition, in lieu of the requirement necessary oradvisable in the preferred form of substitut ing a new sponge for eachpatient in order to preserve sterility. In the form of the inventiondisclosed in Figs. 4 and 5, the bulb is held in a fixed relation to thehandle the same as in the preferred form, the bulb in each instancebeing held above or on the top of the handle alined with thelongitudinal axis thereof so that the dentist can squeeze the bulb by aslight upward movement of his fingers and without discontinuing thegrinding operation.

Obviously as in Fig. 4, the wick could be eliminatedif desired and thewater fed directly to the wheel in which event the dis charge end of thetube 20 would be made smaller.

Further each form of the invention affords a range of adjustment for thepoint of water feed extending from the center to the periphery ofthewheel or radially thereof.

The term handle as herein used is understood to comprehend the toolholder or hand piece of a dental engine.

Obviously any form of wick may be used, for instance any fiber, such aswood, or other material susceptible to capillary attraction.

What is claimed is:

1. In a dental instrument having a handle and a grinding wheel, asupport formed for attachment to the handle of the instrument, a tubularmember pivoted to the support and having a discharge positioned oppositeto the rear face of the wheel and radially movable from the center tothe periphery of the grinding wheel, and a bulb connected to the tubularmember to feed fluid thereto.

2. In a dental instrument having a handle and a grinding wheel, asupport formed for attachment tothe handle of the instrument, a tubularmember pivoted to the support and having a'discharge movable from thecenter to the periphery of the grinding wheel, a bulb connected to thetubular memher to feed fluid thereto, and means to support the bulb in arelatively fixed position on the handle so that the tubular member maybe moved about its pivot while the'bulb remains in its said fixedposition.

, 3. Ina dental instrument having a handle and a grinding wheel, a clipreceivable over the handle, a fluid tube pivoted to and car ried by theclip so as to move radially of the wheel, and a bulb connected to thetube.

4- In a dental instrument having a handle and a grinding wheel, a clipreceivable over the handle, a fluid tube pivoted to the clip so as tomove radially of the wheel, a bulb having an attenuated neck connected.at one end to an end of the tube, and means carried by the clip tosecure the opposite end of the neck and thereby the bulb on top of thehandle, the neck being formed to allow the tube to move radially of thewheel without moving the bulb.

5. In a dental instrument having a handle and a grinding wheel, asupport on the handle, a tube pivoted at one end to the support, a bulbsuperimposed on the handle and having a reduced neck connected at itsouter end to the inner end of the tube, and ears borne by'thesupport'and clamped about the inner end of the neck to hold said neckend and the bulb in fixed position on the handle,

said neck being formed to allow the tube to move about its pivot whilethe bulb remains fixed. I

6. In a dental instrument having a handle and a tool, a fluid tube tofeed fluid to the tool, a bulb connected to the tube, means to removablysecure the tube to the handle, a sleeve received over the tube, andabsorbent material gripping arms carried by the sleeve and arranged onopposite sides of the tube. 7. In a dental instrument having a handleand a tool, a clip receivable over the handle, a tube, a bulb connectedto the inner end of the tube, a member engaged about the tube so as tosupport the latter and arranged over the clip, and means to nect themember-to the clip.

8. In a dental instrument having a handle and a tool, a support on thehandle, a tube pivoted to the support, a bulb on the handle, anelongated neck ontthe bulb connected at its outer end to the tube andmeans to secure the inner end of the neck and thereby the pivotallycon-- I bulb in fixed position on the handle and in spaced relation tothe pivot of the tube to allow the tube to. move about its'pivot withoutaffecting the fixed position of the bulb.

In testimony whereof I :afiix my signature.

WILLIAM W. BOLLS.

